Means for hanging and operating theater-curtains.



PATE'N'JTEDl MARJZD, 19o6.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. H. GHANNON.

APPLIUATION FILED rsB.2s,1so4.

I II

MEANS EUR HANGING AND OPERATING THEATER CURTAINS.

x5. Zag/M PATBNTBD MAR. zo, 1906.

No. 815,904. 'y

s N I A T R U, C R N 0 N N A H .C H J MEANS POR HANGINGAND GPER'ATING THEATE 2 sums-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.23,19,04.

To @ZZ-whom it may concern: Be it known that I, JAMES H. CHANNoN,a

' JAMES cHANNoN, or CHICAGO, iLL'iNors'. Y

' MEANS Fon HANGING AND vSpecification of Letters Patent.

OPERATING THEATER-CURTAINS- Patented March 20,1906.

Application filed February 23,1904. Serial No. 194,847.

. citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new .and useful 4"' Improvements in Means for Hanging` and `Operating Theater-Curtains; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

` j exact4 description of the invention, such as will enable Vothers skilled in the art to which .Y it appertains to make and use the same.

'. sizes and re uire larger sheaves.

. v My invention relates to novel means vfor hanging steel or other freproof or heavy drop curtains, the obj ect being to so hang such curtains as to uniformly distribute'strains thereon andto relieve the hoisting devices of the greaterI part of such strains or the weight of such curtain; andl it consists in the novel features of onstruction hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure lisv a transverse section of a theater, showing( the pros'ceniumwall and drop-curtainin rear elevation. Fig.- 2 is a detail section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the friction-brake.

mechanism of the windlass. Fig: 4 is a detail vertical section, on an enlarged scale, through one end of the proscenium-wall, showing the arrangement of the pulleys to keep the various cables clear of each other.

Fireproof theater-curtains must necessarily be of verylarge area, and being constructed of heavy materials are of great weight. Owing tothe fact that suchpcurtains, together with counterweights, `must be carried by the proscenium-wall, it is necessary that such curtains should be as light as possible, and to keep such weight within reasonable limits such curtains cannot be cross-braced and otherwise constructed to provide the greatest stability, so that in hanging them care must be exercised to support the same at points intermediate theends to prevent sagging. Itis also desirable that the supporting-cables should not be very heavy, as such heavy cables do not work as easily as 'smaller To secure the best resu ts in operating these heavy curtains, care must be exercised to balance the strains of the counterweights, so that binding of the curtain in its guides is avoided, thereby enabling the heaviest possible counterweights to be used in proportion to the weight of the curtain, so that the overbalance of the latter shall be just sufficient to 4cause same to drop when the windlass is reinjure such curtain when'it strikes the stageiioor or injure the latter.

` It is also a feature of my invention to provide means for releasingthe lwindlass which Vare accessible from all parts of the'stage, so that in case of emergency such curtain may 4be caused to drop from points distant from the windlass. Y v To these and other ends my invention con- -leased, without sufficient force, however, to

sists in` cennecting the ireproof curtain A, which is vertically lmovable in guides B, with a windlass C by means of the cables D, which are trained over sheaves suitably `mounted onshafts E, su ported on the proscenium-wall F,'saidcab es D being connected at their ends to a coupling member G, from which a single cable I-I passes to said windlass C. The said cables D are connected to said curtain at various points intermediate the ends, so that the llifting strains are distributed uniformly over the entire width. On each of said shafts E are two loosely-mounted sheaves, over one of which said cables D are trained and over the other of which the cables J, connecting the said curtain A with counterweig'hts K, are trained. One of said counterweights K is movable in what may be termed a well on each side of the said curtain, and veach of said' counterweights is connected with said curtain at the adjacent end at one-half the number of points of connection withv said windlass C. In the instance illustrated said windlass C connects with the curtain A at four points, and each of said counterweights connects with same at two of said points, so that each weight counterbalances one-half of the curtain and balances the strains thereon. The two cables J, connecting each counterweight with the curtain, are preferably connected at their ends directly with said counterweight, it being unnecessary to employ a coupling member, as in the connection with the windlass, for obvious reasons. The said cables D are trained over sheaves L, mounted in a frame M, mounted on the proscenium wall slightly outwardly from andabove the guides B, sothat each cablev actuated, as desired, and is lockedagainstrotation when the 'curtain is at the upper limit of its movement in any convenient man- IIO ner, such locking device being operable to release the windlass by means of aV lever N. The latter is provided at its free end with an opening through which a small cable O passes, said cable Obeing trained over suitable pulleys P and connected at various suitable points with branch ropes or cables Q, provided at their free ends with rings R to be hung on hooks S, said branch ropes serving to .leave said cable free to be oper-` ated to'raise said lever N from any point, and thus release the curtain A. Said cable O carries a weight T below said lever N, which serves to hold said cable taut and admitting of sufficient free movement to prevent release of the curtain by accidental contact with said cable O. Said lever N is provided between its ends with a friction-block U, adapted to rest upon a pulley V, mounted on one of the shafts of the windlass, the weight T tending to normally hold said lever in frictional contact with said pulley to prevent said windlass from turning. When said weight and lever are raised, said windlass is free to turn or be turned to raise or lower the curtain. In case of.. emergency the said windlass may obviously be released Jfrom any part of the stage. In counterbalancing said curtain the latter must obviously suiiiciently overbalance the counterweight to enable it to start downward with ease, but should not so far overbalance as to drop with great force, and thus possibly injure the curtain or" the stage-floor'. M y means for hanging said curtain is advantage ous in this respect, as the friction of the number of pulleys will act as a governor to prev ent excessive rapidity of downward movement.

I claim as my inventiona The herein-described means for operating theater-curtains comprising a windlass, cables connecting same with the curtain, counterweights connected with said curtains, locking means on said windlass, and releasing means connected with said locking means comprising a cable, a weight carried thereby and adapted to engage said releasing means to operate saine when said cable is drawn in one direction, branch cords or cables connected with said cable and extending to various points in the building, devices secured to the walls of the building adapted to coact with dcvices secured to the free ends of said branch cords or cables for holding same at one limit of their movement, each of said branch cables being adapted when drawn in one direction to raise said weight to release said windlass, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses. i

JAMES H. CHANNON.

Witnesses:

RUDOLPH WM. LoTz, E. F. WILsoN. 

